March 17, 2026
Contact: Eric Stann, StannE@missouri.edu
Photos courtesy Brooks Curran/Nordica
The freedom that Erin Spong finds standing on top of a 10,000-foot mountain mirrors what she discovered at the University of Missouri — the confidence to carve her own line, wherever it leads.
Spong, BJ ’16, is a sponsored backcountry freeride skier, freelance writer and content creator who transforms her mountain adventures into compelling storytelling, powered by the skills she gained at the Missouri School of Journalism.
"This is where I feel most alive," Spong said. "Out here, it's just me, the mountain and the line I choose. There's no structure, no schedule, just freedom."
This style of freeskiing — a mix of climbing, mountaineering and skiing — aligns with her creative mindset.
Inspired by snowboarding and skating culture, freeskiing celebrates style, exploration and pushing limits. It also provides Spong with the perfect canvas to blend athleticism and storytelling into a sustainable career.
“I learned at Mizzou that I didn’t have to choose just one version of myself,” Spong said. “I can be an athlete, a storyteller and a creative — all at the same time.”
Finding her path
Spong grew up chasing Olympic dreams as an alpine ski racer. But at 16, a torn labrum in her hip and the surgery that followed abruptly ended her competitive racing career.
Uncertain about her future, Spong’s family members, many of whom are creative writers, stepped up. They encouraged her to lean into another one of her strengths: storytelling. That guidance led her to enroll at the Missouri School of Journalism.
At Mizzou, Spong built a versatile toolkit that now anchors her professional life, blending skills in strategic communication, writing, design and video production.
“My college experience taught me I didn’t have to follow a straight line,” she said. “Mastering different skills has made me adaptable and confident that I can make an impact anywhere.”
Building her competitive edge
Through MOJO Ad — the premier, student-staffed ad agency at the Missouri School of Journalism — Spong saw firsthand how creative teams collaborate across disciplines, from media buying to copywriting. While a design course pushed her out of her comfort zone and sharpened her visual thinking, everything came together through a video editing class.
“Piecing clips together and crafting stories through motion showed me that narratives live everywhere, not just on the page,” she said.
Beyond the technical skills, Spong said Mizzou also taught her how to pitch ideas with confidence and navigate professional spaces — experience she now carries into every project.
“No matter the room or the challenge, I know I bring value,” she said. “That confidence propels me through every opportunity.”
In her first job after college, Spong worked as a junior copywriter. It didn’t take long for her to realize she was most energized by working with outdoor brands.
That realization led her to a job with Freeskier Magazine. Then, during one of her projects, a professional skier changed the way she saw her future. He told her: “You’re way too good a skier to just be a writer.”
So, when the COVID-19 pandemic caused an unexpected layoff, Spong pivoted quickly, activating her professional network and applying the skills she developed at Mizzou. Before long, she was freeskiing professionally while producing her own creative content across multiple platforms.
Today, Spong’s career is a seamless fusion of athleticism and storytelling — one that reflects the adaptability and creative confidence at the core of a Mizzou education.
“Sometimes life slams a door shut,” Spong said. “But if you keep learning, evolving and embracing new possibilities, another door swings open — and it might lead exactly where you’re meant to be.”
